Sen. Whitehouse convenes health-care forum in Rhode Island

EAST PROVIDENCE — U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse convened some of the top leaders of health care in Rhode Island Monday morning to talk about changes to the health-care system that go beyond websites and...

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By
Felice J. Freyer
Posted Dec. 3, 2013 @ 12:01 am

EAST PROVIDENCE — U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse convened some of the top leaders of health care in Rhode Island Monday morning to talk about changes to the health-care system that go beyond websites and insurance enrollments.

With a TV camera rolling, the Democrat drew attention to provisions in the law intended to improve care and lower costs, at a time when the national media is focused on the troubled federal website. Rhode Island, he said, has been a leader in changing the way health care is delivered. “I’m very proud of what I see us doing,” Whitehouse said.

The event took place at Coastal Medical, a large group practice that has entered into five “shared savings” contracts with insurers and the government, in which the doctors are rewarded for preventing illness rather than just providing services.

“How they get reimbursed is no longer a question of how many patients they see but how well they took care of an entire population,” said Coastal President G. Alan Kurose. Doctors, staff and patients all report higher satisfaction with the new models of care, he said.

Many of the changes were already under way before the Affordable Care Act was enacted. But speakers said the law accelerated and bolstered these efforts. Laura Adams, president and CEO of the Rhode Island Quality Institute, said her agency’s work to promote electronic medical records would still be “dormant” if not for the law’s emphasis on data collection and coordination of care.

“All these changes have been waiting there,” said Dennis Keefe, president and CEO of Care New England. “A lot of this is really becoming urgent. … Now [the ACA] sheds a bright light: ‘You have to do these things.’”

Whitehouse said the Affordable Care Act would survive the difficulties with the federal website and Republican attacks. Too many aspects of the law are popular and necessary, and too many of the changes it spurred are irreversible, he said.

“I think it’s really important that we don’t get distracted by the quarrels of the moment,” he said.